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Best round of the year
Posted: Tuesday May 30, 2000 03:06 PM
Leta Lindley, 27, is in her sixth season on the LPGA Tour. She had her best year in 1999 with a tie for second, as well as four other top 10 finishes. In 1997, she finished second at the LPGA Championship, losing to Chris Johnson on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. She was a four-time All-American at the University of Arizona and set an NCAA record for lowest 54-hole score (nine under par). Check out Lindley's diary each Wednesday on CNNSI.com.
May 31, 2000 I'm happy to report that my luggage did show up last week. It finally arrived late Monday night, which was great. When I woke up on Tuesday, the bags were there. That was good, since I was able to shower, change into some clean clothes and play my practice round as planned. So it all worked out okay; it was just a little inconvenient.
We teed it up on Thursday, and there were 20 mile-per-hour winds. Some girls played just fine with it. I actually hit the ball really well, but I pitched and putted horribly. I shot a 76. Matt gave me a tip for my putting -- he thought I was standing a little over the ball, and I needed a little bend in my arms. That seemed to help. On Friday I bogeyed my first hole, then I reeled off a bunch of birdies. At one point I was four under on the day, but I gave two strokes back on the back nine. On 18, I thought I had to make par to make the cut. I had to chip out from under a tree and get up and down from 110 yards, which I did, by making a 10-foot putt. Turned out, the cut was at plus 3, not plus 2, but it felt good to make that putt thinking things were on the line. On Saturday, I played with Pat Bradley. I played really well. At one point I was at one under par for the tournament, but then I bogeyed the last hole. That really left a bad taste in my mouth. I was pleased overall with things, though. Like on Friday, I shot 70. On Sunday, I just played really solid golf. I had eight birdies and two bogeys. I just kept putting myself in position. I made some good putts, some good up and downs. I'm usually a person who shoots two or three under. I'm not really a person who goes out and shoots six under, but that's what I did. It was my best round this year and I was really pumped. I'd always admired players who can shoot a great final round and leapfrog ahead of some players at the end, and I don't think I'd ever done that before. Off the top of my head I think that was my best-ever final round. It felt really good. It was also exciting from another viewpoint -- I never used to play four-day tournaments that well. I'd sort of peter out at the end. So it was really great to keep improving, and then still have something left on Sunday to go out and shoot a 66. I definitely feel like that's because of all the work I've been doing in the gym. So far things this week are off to a good start: I have all of my luggage and I'm staying right across from the golf course. I have some good memories here. I finished tied for second here last year, although we only played two days because of rain. This is the last week before the cut-off for the Evian tournament, and I think I've made the cut. As I've noted before, the way they figure out who gets to go is very confusing. But a bunch of players and caddies I've talked to think I should be in, so I'm feeling confident. I think I'm going to buy my ticket for France tomorrow. I better be going! It's my birthday week. I turn 28 on Thursday. It's kind of hard when your birthday falls on the first round of a tournament -- it's not like I can make any big plans. I'm just hoping to play well. Of course, the best birthday present would be to win my first tournament. -- Leta
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